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Estonia: Relations between Christian and Non-Christian ReligiousOrganisations and the State of Religious FreedomTriin Vakker; Priit Rohtmets

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Estonia: Relations between Christian and Non-Christian

Religious Organisations and the State of Religious Freedom1

TRIIN VAKKER & PRIIT ROHTMETS

ABSTRACT

In this article we examine the religious situation in postsoviet Estonia. Traditionally a Christian

country, Estonia today is strongly influenced by its Soviet past. Only one third of the population

belongs to a particular religion, while nearly half the population say that religion plays no role intheir lives. The states attitude towards the various religions is remarkably positive and the

legislation concerning religious organisations is very liberal. Most believers in Estonia belong to

Lutheran and Orthodox churches. The biggest non-Christian religion is Estonian Native Religion,

and there are also Buddhist, Jewish and Muslim communities. In the late 1990s several problems

arose concerning legislation and religious studies at schools. Discussion of these topics found the

Christian denominations on one side and non-Christian religions on the other. Although the

question whether Religious Studies should be a compulsory subject in schools is still fervently

disputed, this now happens in the secular media, while discussion has more or less ceased amongst

the various religions. The dialogue between Christian and non-Christian religions is nearly non-

existent and there seems to be no will to intensify interrelations. If problems emerge, the

representatives of the various religions turn to the state rather than discuss them among themselves.

Introduction

The aim of this article is to give an overview of religious organisations registered in

Estonia, of the contacts among them and of their relationships with the state.

Just 29 per cent of the respondents in the 2000 census said they adhered to a

particular creed, while 34 per cent said they were indifferent to religion and 6 per cent

said they were atheists.2 In a poll in 2002 only 15.2 per cent of respondents said that

religion played an important role in their everyday life, while 28 per cent saidthat religion had no importance for them at all, and 2.3 per cent were negative towards

religion, one reason commonly given being too aggressive mission work (Kilemit and

No mmik, 2004, pp. 14 16). The percentage of atheists and people hostile towards

religion is about the same as in Nordic countries, but there is a relatively large number

of people who are indifferent or somewhat hostile towards religion, and this results in

a generally rather negative attitude in Estonian society to initiatives taken by the

various religious organisations.3

Religious organisations are clearly divided into two groups: Christian organisations

on one side, and all other religions registered in Estonia on the other. Christian

Religion, State & Society, Vol. 36, No. 1, March 2008

ISSN 0963-7494 print; ISSN 1465-3974 online/08/010045-09 2008 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/09637490701809712


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organisations are gathered under the umbrella organisation the Estonian Council of

Churches (ECC) (Eesti Kirikute Noukogu), which is partly funded from the state

budget. In order to present their views more successfully, on 20 April 2001 the

representatives of non-Christian religions established the Round Table of Religious

Organisations (RTRO) (Usuliste Uhenduste Umarlaud).

Christian Organisations and the Council of Estonian Churches

The biggest religious organisation in Estonia is the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran

Church (EELC) (Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik).4 It has about 160,000 members of

whom about 40,000 are active.5 (In 2003 the total population of Estonia was

1,356,000.) The Lutheran Church has been the predominant church in Estonia since

the beginning of the sixteenth century. Estonia became part of the Russian Empire in

the early eighteenth century, and for a long time the EELC functioned according to

Russian regulations on religion. After the February Revolution of 1917 in Russia the

Estonians were able to hold their first church congress (in May). The delegates wanted

a free church separated from the state, and referred to the EELC as a free peopleschurch (vaba rahvakirik). The congress set up a committee which developed a new

statute for the EELC; this was adopted in 1919. Until 1940, with over 900,000

members, the EELC played an extremely important role in Estonian society, with

clergy elected to parliament. Estonia became part of the Soviet Union in 1940, and

thereafter the number of members of the EELC fell drastically, the church was

dispossessed of its assets, half the clergy fled to the West, and most of those who

stayed in Estonia fell victim to repressions. Membership began to grow again in the

late1980s, coinciding with Estonias struggle for freedom. The number of members

reached its peak in 1992, and since then it has continually fallen, but the EELC is still

the largest religious organisation in Estonia. It has its own newspaper and atheological institute for its ministers.

Over the centuries Orthodoxy has also consolidated its position in Estonia. In

1920 the Orthodox Church in Estonia became an autonomous church under the

jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. When Bolshevik persecution of the

Orthodox Church set in, involving the death of the Estonian bishop Platon and

the imprisonment of Patriarch Tikhon, the council of the church decided to ask to be

taken under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. The

transfer took place in 1923. During the first Soviet occupation in 1941 the Orthodox

Church was united with the Moscow Patriarchate, but this was annulled after the

Germans occupied Estonia in the same year. After the second Soviet occupation of

Estonia, in 1944, and under pressure from the Soviet government, the Orthodox

Church in Estonia came back under the control of the Moscow Patriarchate. Many

members of the church, however, left the country and established an Estonian

Orthodox Church in Exile, which continued to maintain ties with Constantinople.

Thus two opposed groups first appeared within the Estonian Orthodox Church.

Estonia regained its independence in 1991 and in 1993 the exile church, now called the

Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC) (Eesti Apostlik ~Oigeusu Kirik) (known

officially in English as the Orthodox Church of Estonia) was registered and

recognised is the legal successor of the church of the Russian Empire. Protests from

the Moscow Patriarchate led finally to the registration of the Estonian Orthodox

Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (EOC-MP) (Moskva Patriarhaadi Eesti ~OigeusuKirik) in 2002. Thus two Orthodox Churches are registered in Estonia today

(Ringvee, 2003).

46 Triin Vakker & Priit Rohtmets


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During the period while Estonia was part of the Soviet Union the Russian

population of Estonia increased significantly, with the result that today the EAOC has

about 25,000 members, while the EOC-MP has close to 150,000 members. Services in

the former are conducted in Estonian; those in the latter mostly in Russian.

The membership of other religions is smaller. The other churches registered in

Estonia are: the Roman Catholic Church (Rooma-Katoliku Kiriku Apostellik

Administratuur Eestis) (about 6000 members); the Union of Free Evangelical and

Baptist Churches of Estonia (Eesti Evangeeliumi Kristlaste ja Baptistide Koguduste

Liit) (also about 6000 members); the United Methodist Church in Estonia (Eesti

Metodisti Kirik); the Estonian Pentecostal Church (Eesti Kristlik Nelipuhi Kirik); the

Estonian Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Adventistide Koguduste

Eesti Liit); the Estonian Congregation of St Gregory of the Armenian Apostolic

Church (Armeenia Apostliku Kiriku Eesti Puha Gregoriuse Kogudus); and the

Charismatic Episcopal Church of Estonia (Eesti Karismaatiline Episkopaalkirik).

In 1989, when the states attitude towards religious organisations had grown

considerably more tolerant, the members of six creeds formed the ECC as a vehicle

enabling its members to relate to the state and express their opinions more clearly.Today the ECC has ten member churches (all those listed above).6 The main

challenges facing the ECC are developing ecumenical work and solving problems in

the area of religious education. The ECC also plays an important role in training

prison and army chaplains, and conducts socio-religious studies on the moral and

other values of Estonians. It has developed into an active partner with the state. It has

regular meetings with representatives of state institutions with the aim of contributing

to legislative work.

Non-Christian Religious Organisations and the Round Table of Religious

Organisations

A wide range of non-Christian world religions is registered in Estonia, but their

membership is well below that of the Christian churches.

According to the census of 2000 there were 1387 Muslims in Estonia. They form

two congregations. The Estonian Islamic Congregation (Eesti Islami Kogudus),

registered in 1994, sees itself as the legal successor of the congregation in Narva that

was established in 1928. Muslims have thus been in Estonia for a long time, and have a

positive attitude towards Estonian culture. For example, according to the statute of

the Estonian Islamic Congregation, one of their main tasks is to promote positive

attitudes towards the Estonian national cultural heritage and traditions as well as to

help the members of the congregation to integrate into Estonian society through the

Estonian language, history and traditions (Linnas, 2004, p. 41). The Estonian Sunni

Congregation (Eesti Muhameedlaste Sunniitide Kogudus) was registered in 1995. It was

established by a group of former members of the Estonian Islamic Congregation as a

result of personal differences and conflict between two ministers. Estonian Sunnis and

Shiites work together, however. Most Muslims in Estonia are Sunnis; most of the

Shiites are Azerbaijanis.

According to the census of 2000 there were 622 Buddhists in Estonia, although the

active membership of the two registered congregations seems to be no more than 100.

There is a non-profit Buddhist organisation called The Friends of the Western Buddhist

Order (Laane Budistliku Vennaskonna Sobrad). Many members of the Buddhistcongregations are socially active, but congregations as such tend not to be socially

involved, apart from their membership of the RTRO (Po lenik, 2004, p. 92).

Estonia: ChristianNon-Christian Relations 47


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In addition to the Muslims and Buddhists the non-Christian religious organisations

registered in Estonia include the Jewish Religious Community of Estonia (Eesti

Juudiusu Kogudus), the Union of Estonian Jewish Congregations and Organisations

(Eesti Juudi Koguduste ja Organisatsioonide Liit), the Congregation of Krishna

Consciousness in Estonia (Krishna Teadvuse Eesti Kogudus), the Union of Estonian

Bahai Congregations (Eesti Bahai Koguduste Liit), the Estonian Nyingma Tibetan

Buddhist Congregation (Tiibeti Budismi Nyingma Eesti Kogudus) and the Estonian

House of Taara and Native Religions (Maavalla Koda). The latter regards the native

Estonian religion as embodying the centuries-long Estonian cultural tradition; it holds

that Christianity was forced upon the Estonians and is not natural for them (Maausust,

n.d.). The movement started in the late 1980s, when a group of history students began

studying sacred groves. It continues to grow, and now has the largest number of

members among the non-Christian organisations (about 1500). One reason for this is

certainly the fact that it is the most active of the non-Christian religions; it says that it

tries to oppose the domination of the Christian churches (Press Release, 2002).7

Relations between the Christian and non-Christian Religious Organisations and their

Relations with the State

According to Ilmo Au, the head of the Religious Affairs Department of the Estonian

Ministry of Interior Affairs (Eesti Vabariigi Siseministeeriumi usuasjade osakonna

juhataja), the situation in Estonia is unique, because all religious organisations are

able to work together. If differences exist, they arent emphasised and they dont form

the basis of conflicts and intrigues. Mr Au also notes that a situation in which Sunnis

and Shiites can work together is quite unusual. According to him all this is an excellent

example of the effects of democratic policies and very good legislation (Eestis, 1995).

Estonia has been very highly rated in international studies as well. The Churchesand Congregations Act (Kirikute ja koguduste seadus) which was passed on 11

February 2002 has received especially positive feedback. Nevertheless, from time to

time the non-Christian organisations protest against alleged religious freedom

infringements. In most cases these complaints are made in the form of protest letters

from the RTRO; often, however, criticisms are voiced by representatives of individual

religions. The House of Taara and Native Religions is definitely the most active in this

respect, blaming both the state and the larger (usually Christian) religions for

breaching religious freedom or for hidden attempts to establish an Estonian state

church.

Problems can be divided into two main categories, which are both subjects of

discussion in wider Estonian society: (1) problems connected with legislation that is,

with religion-state relations; and (2) problems connected with religious education,

chaplaincy and alleged attempts by the EELC to gain the status of an Estonian state

church that is, with interreligious relations.

Problems Connected with Legislation

The House of Taara and Native Religions argues in favour of indigenous national

religion. It holds that mission work and religious conversion are forms of mental and

cultural violence that decrease lifes diversity. It gives examples from history showing

that tens of millions of people have been killed and hundreds of peoples and culturesdestroyed as a result of missionary activity and religious intolerance over the last

millennium. It argues that religious freedom is under threat in Estonia because the



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states religion policy is unbalanced, taking account only of the interests of certain

Christian organisations, for whom the situation is much better because of state

subsidies and support (Usuvabadus, n.d.). According to the RTRO religious

legislation in Estonia is based on the arguments and interests of Christian creeds,

and several laws have been passed that hamper the practice of other religions (here

they apparently mean laws on military and prison chaplains, and also the fact that the

ECC is funded from the state budget) (Usuliste, 2002a).

Statements of this kind in the Estonian press by representatives of non-Christian

religions were especially frequent before the passing of the 2002 Churches and

Congregations Act. Non-Christian religious organisations argued that the law was

conceived in a Christian context and that they might fail to meet the new registration

criteria. Article 7 of the law stipulates that religious organisations must include the

words church, congregation, union of congregations or monastery/nunnery

(kirik, kogudus, koguduste liit, klooster) in their official name.8 In a letter to the legal

affairs committee of the Estonian parliament dated 20 February 2002 three non-

Christian religious organisations expressed their worries about religious discrimina-

tion in Estonia and claimed that the law was not in conformity with the EstonianConstitution and breached internationally recognised human rights norms

(Presidendile, 2002).

The concerns of the non-Christian religions led them to unite in setting up the

RTRO on 29 November 2002. The RTRO has addressed a number of issues. It

highlights problems with the media, which are said to broadcast a lot of Christian

programmes but to give inadequate coverage to other religions. Another cause for

concern is the official protocol for celebrating state holidays, which in most cases

includes the participation of national leaders in church ceremonies. The RTRO claims

that the situation is inappropriate because only one third of the people living in

Estonia are Christians; most Estonians, they say, have expressed no religiouspreference. The RTRO argues that psychologists rather than chaplains should be

deployed in the army and prisons, on the grounds that they are religiously impartial

(Usuliste, 2002b). It has also addressed issues over religious education in schools:

there should be more coverage of the history of religion in a range of subjects, instead

of religious studies with an arguably Christian background.

The RTRO repeatedly protested to the parliamentary legal affairs committee about

the new legislation. The committee did not agree that the word congregation had an

exclusively Christian meaning. According to the law a congregation is a voluntary

union of individuals practising the same religion, the activities of which are based on

its statute. The RTRO then turned to the president of Estonian Republic and the

chancellor of justice. As a result a group of experts was convened, and in 2003 it

concluded that the terms used in the law, including congregation, had a Christian

background and were therefore Christian concepts. The chancellor accepted this

conclusion. The head of the department of religious affairs also agreed that the law

should be urgently amended so that the register of religious organisations would

include other historical terms besides church, congregation, union of congrega-

tions and monastery/nunnery (Kaasik, 2003). Parliament passed the amendment in

2004, making it possible for the House of Taara and Native Religions to register their

organisation under that name.

Problems arising out of the 2002 legislation have thus been overcome and, as far as

the nature worshippers are concerned, the only remaining outstanding issue isdetermining the status and the mapping of their sacred hills, making it possible to

treat them equally with churches, mosques and synagogues as sacred locations.



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Thanks to the efforts of the civil servants of the department of religious affairs,

however, a preliminary compromise has been reached, according to which the sacred

groves will become protected sacred areas.

Problems Connected with Religious Studies

The question of whether religious studies should be a compulsory subject in Estonian

schools has been a source of controversy since the early 1990s. Soon after Estonia

regained its independence in 1991 there was widespread support for the idea of

introducing religious studies into the school syllabus. Various church bodies began to

draft courses. Three syllabi were compiled, in 1991, 1993 and 1997; they were all

Christian-based, bearing characteristics of the denominations that compiled them, and

although various schools used them none of them gained general acceptance.

The question became lively again towards the end of the 1990s, when Tartu

University and several churches cooperated to compile a new syllabus for religious

studies. The course introduced every major religion, but the compilers considered that

because historically Estonia was part of the Christian cultural space it was necessaryto concentrate particularly on Christian teachings. There was a widespread response:

not only the proposed emphasis on Christianity but also the basic idea of including

religious studies in school curricula as a compulsory subject came under criticism.

Critics included both non-believers and representatives of non-Christian religions; and

while the majority of the opponents of religious studies feared that the aim was to lure

schoolchildren to join churches, the complaint of non-Christian believers was that the

treatment of other religions was too shallow (U marlaud, 2001). In the discussion over

the content and nature of religious studies there were many different parties, including

the EELC, the ECC and the RTRO, all vigorously defending their own positions.

The RTRO submitted its own proposals to all the relevant parties in 2001. Itemphasised first of all that the proposed syllabus was not suitable for schools because

it did not take into account the requirements of pupils of different ages. The ethics

classes proposed for elementary schools, for example, were arguably based on an over-

simplified treatment of the Protestant system of ethics. It then went on to point out

that there was a lack of teachers and teaching materials capable of sustaining religion

as a compulsory subject and that there was a risk that pupils would be misinformed

rather than educated. The new subject would also increase the workload of pupils. It

also argued that teaching religious studies on the basis of a particular religion was

unconstitutional. After these critical observations the RTRO went on to present its

own proposals. It recommended increasing the proportion of the social studies

syllabus devoted to religion in order to provide a better overview of different religions

and creeds and their history. It did not exclude the possibility of teaching religious

studies in Estonian schools in line with contemporary European standards at some

point in the future; but a proper system for training teachers of religious studies

needed to be put in place first. The knowledge of current teachers of religious studies

was limited to Christianity, and even here many of them did not have thorough

knowledge (U marlaud, 2003).

The largest Estonian religious organisation, the EELC, shares the view that pupils

should be informed about different religions and that the state should guarantee the

availability of teaching materials and teachers education (EELK, 2002). Unlike the

Round Table, however, the EELC argues that religious studies should be acompulsory subject in Estonian schools. Meanwhile the ECC argues that while

religious studies should not be based on the teachings of a specific denomination and



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various religions have more or less ceased discussing religious studies and the situation

is stable. More general discussions among religions are almost non-existent as well. If

problems arise the various religious organisations prefer to turn to the state, because

this can lead to tangible results. In this respect, one has to agree with the head of the

religious affairs department, Ilmo Au, who emphasises the quiet coexistence of the

various religions and the relatively friendly relations among them. There is no

discrimination against religious minorities. The main potential cause for concern,

however, is widespread prejudice against believers and religions, which underlies a

generally negative attitude towards religion in society at large.

Notes

1 The research on which this article is based was supported by the Estonian Science

Foundation, grant 6624.

2 Twenty-three per cent answered this question saying that they were unable or unwilling to

answer it; 8 per cent did not answer it at all. See Hansen, 2002, pp. 13 14.

3 According to Hansen (2002, p. 13) the percentages of nonreligious in the Nordic countriesare: Denmark, 22; Norway, 50; Sweden 56; Finland 34. The percentage of atheists in these

countries is between 3 and 6 per cent. In Estonia, according to the 2000 census, the percentage

of nonreligious is 71 and the percentage of atheists is 6.

4 For the history of the EELC, see www.eelk.ee/english.php (last accessed 10 December 2007).

5 Active members means those who pay their annual church tax, attend services and take part

in other church-related functions. Most of the church members who are not active in this

sense are people who joined the church in the late 1980s, when it was extremely popular, or

even earlier, when church membership marked a kind of protest against Soviet rule. Even if

they do not pay the church tax they are not expelled, because there is neither the will nor the

means to do so.

6 For the membership of the Estonian Council of Churches see www.ekn.ee/index.php?lkliikmed (last accessed 10 December 2007).

7 As its name implies, the House of Taara and Native Religions includes adherents of two faiths.

The Taara faith was founded in the 1920s. Like the native religion, it aims to restore the

traditional religion of the Estonians which was destroyed after the arrival of Christianity.

However, the Taara faith is distinct from the native religion. The latter emphasises an

older national heritage; there are many gods but they do not play a central role. Taara was

originally the god of the biggest island of Estonia, Saaremaa. The initiators of the Taara faith

tried to create a religion which would be close to Estonian identity, but also evolving

and contemporary. However, it has not continued as a viable faith and its membership is

dwindling.

8 These various terms refer to different types of structure. For example, a church has to have

an episcopal structure, but a congregation does not.

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